The now-shuttered SugarCube at 10-16 50th Ave. (via SugarCube on Instagram)
Sept. 4, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
SugarCube, the dessert and coffee bar in Hunters Point, has closed for business.
A sign posted outside the 10-16 50th Ave. shop on Aug. 31 shows a farewell message from the owner, Peter Zaharatos.
“What a wonderful adventure!” Zaharatos wrote. “Thank you for the memories! Thank you for letting me fill your hearts and minds with flavor!”
The note calls for SugarCube-goers to follow the shop’s next steps through its website, and ends with the Ancient Greek maxim—“know thyself”.
The coffee bar and bakery opened in 2016, and was known for its chocolates made from 3-D printed molds and other pastries made with a modern, geometric twist. Many of the shop’s offerings also incorporated Greek flavors and ingredients.
The dessert’s designs were influenced by Zaharatos’ background in design and architecture.
Zaharatos told the LIC Post that the business closed because of his father’s death earlier this year, coupled with rising rents in Long Island City.
“It brought a lot of responsibilities on me that weren’t expected,” he said. “It was way too much for me to handle between the store and that.”
A new SugarCube store isn’t in the works any time soon, but Zaharatos will maintain his online presence and continue to produce and sell his highly-requested 3-D chocolates.
He said Long Island City, nonetheless, was a special place to have a business in.
“It’s a very centered, personal space,” Zaharatos said. “Everyone gets to know you, and you get to know them.”
SugarCube Closing Sign
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11 Comments
Over rated!
I was always perplexed at how this place would get an A rating as it always looked dirty! Moreover, service was very poor and unorganized.
Not surprised they went out of business…
We drove from Manhattan once a week for kids classes in LIC and undoubtedly our favorite activity involved spending time at sugar cube enjoying Peter’s magical creations. Best wishes to him and hope to see him establish another special place somewhere soon.
Pete was a cool guy and very personal with people and what they wanted in an ice cream and desserts. Best ice cream in LIC.
I hope this place becomes a real estate office. That’s what we really need.
Fly me through the moon
This place had amazing gelato. Sad to see it go!
Sad news. This was a neighborhood gem and I’ll miss the salted caramel gelato!
We will all miss you and sugarcube. Best of luck on your next chapter!
Local businesses keep suffering because these greedy developers like Trump keep raising the rents. Trump’s tax breaks for his fellow super-rich developers just make the problem worse, but I still voted for him because my principles are meaningless. Who cares if most of his cabinet are guilty of federal crimes, Hillary sent some emails once.
dude, enough. please.
Nooooooooooooooooooo! Huge loss for the neighborhood — Peter’s gelato, and other dessert creations, were fantastic.